The new device is cheap to make and easy to use, and came to Marian Bechtel while she tickled the ivories.

17-year-old Marian Bechtel might live in Pennsylvania, where land mines are not a common occurrence, but she has still managed to invent the prototype for a brand-new minesweeper.

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The device, which cost far lower than current technology, uses sound waves to figure out where the deadly devices are. The combination of sensitive microphones and a seismic vibrator connected to a standard metal detector was tested, successfully, on mock plastic and metal land mines. It was a finalist in the recently concluded 2012 Intel Science Talent Search.

The project was inspired by family connections and a lucky flash of inspiration, Bechtel tells Co.Exist:

“My parents are both geologists,” she says. “Years ago they got connected with an international group of scientists working on a project called RASCAN, developing a holographic radar device for detecting land mines. During the summer before 8th grade, I met all of these scientists and talked with them about their work and the land mine issue. I was really touched and inspired by what they had to say, and wanted to get involved in science and possibly land mine detection.”

Where does a 17-year-old find inspiration for life-saving innovation? In her music practice:

“I noticed that when I played certain chords or notes on the piano, the strings on a nearby banjo would resonate,” says Bechtel. “I heard this, and it was almost like the story of the apple falling on Newton’s head–I thought that maybe I could use the same principle to find landmines. So, I began doing research and talking with scientists in humanitarian de-mining and acoustics; three years later I had built a prototype.”

Sean Sennott of the FDW Corporation and Lorenzo Capineri of the University of Florence also provided assistance. In addition, Bechtel was the recipient of a fellowship from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development; the video clip below contains an interview of her with inventor Dean Kamen.

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The winners of the Intel Science Talent Search, who were named on March 13, also include Nithin Tumma of Michigan, who won $100,000 for his research into breast cancer treatments, and Andrey Sushko of Washington state, who won $75,000 for developing a tiny motor for use in microrobotics. Other winners included projects on microscopic worms, Cherednik algebras, and the use of non-speech patterns of sound to convey information.